Indian Thunder Stroke 111 engine to power 2014 lineup

Publish Date:

Mar 11, 2013

MEDINA, Minn. - Indian Motorcycle this past weekend in Daytona revealed the Thunder Stroke 111 engine that will power the 2014 lineup due later this year.

Polaris, owner of Indian since spring 2011, said its goal in designing the engine was “to capture the iconic design and styling aspects of the 112-year old brand’s most historic models and fuse that heritage with state-of-the-art technology and progressive design elements.”

Polaris researched the complete history of Indian Motorcycle power train development by reviewing volumes of historical documents, test-riding vintage motorcycles, and studying and dissecting an array of Indian models.

The Thunder Stroke 111 marks the first clean-sheet Indian Motorcycle engine design in seven decades.

Specs for the new engine, according to Polaris:

Engine displacement: 111 cubic inches

Torque: More than 115 ft.-lbs.

Architecture: 49-degree V-twin, air-cooled with integrated oil cooler, finned heads, a left-side air intake, a down-firing exhaust system and parallel pushrod tubes, with the proportions and layout familiar to Indian Motorcycle fans

“The engineering prowess and financial resources of Polaris Industries will re-forge this iconic brand into the industry leader it deserves to be,” claimed Indian marketing materials.

Polaris said it performed more than 1 million miles of testing, including dyno testing and hundreds of thousands of miles of on-road testing.

The Thunder Stroke 111 is built in Osceola, Wis., at the Polaris Industries Engine Assembly Plant, with future full-unit motorcycle assembly taking place in Polaris’ production facility in Spirit Lake, Iowa.

Indian is now showcasing the Thunder Stroke 111 in a “Spirit of Munro” streamliner custom-built in honor of Burt Munro’s “Munro Special,” portrayed in the 2005 movie “The World’s Fastest Indian.”